Republican candidates heading into the November midterms should feel some relief. For the first time in a long time, they have the justification to clearly break from President Donald Trump on issues with which they disagree.

What has been considered for the past five years to be a betrayal in Republican politics — disagreeing with the president — may now be the only way for GOP hopefuls to win or retain their seats in office.

Under Trump's second administration, Republicans' chances of gaining or staying in power have significantly decreased. Just weeks out from the election, control of Congress is at best a toss-up, at worst for Republicans, a blue wave.

Republicans should feel free to cut bait and run from the president's policies wherever necessary to not just try to save themselves politically, but finally tell voters who they are, what they see as broken the past two years and what they uniquely can do to fix it.

“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Michigan’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate said last week in an ad, after previously defending Trump’s handling of it.

Rogers pointed to the economic consequences hitting Michigan families as one reason his position has changed.

That may also be why a lot of other Republicans have changed their position on the war — and are discouraged looking at the November horizon.

In an Economist/YouGov poll conducted Sept. 18–21, 53% of Republicans said going to war with Iran was the right decision, down sharply from 68% in April. Meanwhile, the share of Republicans saying it was the wrong decision rose from 12% in April to 21% today.

After more than a decade of Trump, voters — even loyal MAGA voters — are able to distinguish what they like about what Trump has done and what they don't.

Trump promised Americans peace abroad and prosperity at home. Instead, the war in Iran has dragged toward its seventh month while its consequences are showing up at gas pumps and in the prices Americans pay to move goods around the country.

Diesel is nearly $7 per gallon — an astounding number under any president.

Republicans don’t have to defend that contradiction simply because a Republican president created it.

A Republican can still approve of some of what Trump has done while believing Trump is wrong on some things. GOP voters are already making that distinction.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week puts Trump’s approval among Republicans at 73% — still substantial, but down from 86% in January. The erosion is much sharper on the issues Americans encounter every day. Republican approval of Trump’s handling of the economy has fallen from 80% to 56%. On the cost of living, it has collapsed from 70% to 44%.

That ought to liberate Republican candidates rather than frighten them. Voters don’t have to render a single verdict on the entire Trump presidency, and neither do the people asking to represent them. A Republican can support Trump’s border policies while believing he is wrong about Iran. He can applaud one part of the president’s agenda while demanding a different economic course.

Other Republicans like Rep. Tom Barrett have been willing to break with Trump on the war in Iran — and months ago.

That’s politics as it was supposed to work.

For nearly a decade, Republican politicians learned that disagreeing with Trump could carry an extraordinary political cost. But the calculation is changing and unquestioning loyalty could carry an even bigger political cost.

Voters themselves are increasingly separating the parts of Trump they support from those they don't. Republican candidates should be willing to do the same.

_____

©2026 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.